She turned.
He looked almost frightened.
Eleanor nearly laughed.
This enormous man who walked alone through wolf country was frightened by a woman in a cotton nightdress.
She decided to force the question neither had managed to ask.
“Can you make me come tonight?”
Caleb froze.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Eleanor waited.
His face slowly turned red beneath the beard.
“I…”
She lifted an eyebrow.
“Yes?”
“I don’t know.”
The confidence drained from her.
“You don’t know what I like.”
“No.”
“That is normal.”
“No.”
He swallowed.
“I mean I don’t know any of it.”
Eleanor stared.
Caleb looked toward the floor.
“I’ve never been with a woman.”
The room seemed to change temperature.
Eleanor blinked.
“You’re thirty-two.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve lived near towns.”
“Occasionally.”
“You’ve never…”
“No.”
“Not once?”
“No.”
His embarrassment was so genuine Eleanor’s suspicion disappeared.
Caleb sat heavily beside the hearth.
“My father brought me into the mountains when I was thirteen.”
“He died when I was nineteen.”
“I kept trapping.”
“Traded twice a year.”
“Worked cattle some summers.”
“There were women.”
“I simply…”
He looked toward his hands.
“Never knew what to say.”
Eleanor’s expression softened.
Caleb laughed bitterly.
“Apparently that remains a problem.”
She walked toward him.
He stood immediately.
As if sitting while she approached felt unsafe.
For him, perhaps.
Eleanor touched his hand.
Caleb went still.
His fingers were rough.
Callused.
And trembling.
“You’re afraid of me.”
“I’m afraid of hurting you.”
The words broke something open inside her.
Henry had never worried about that.
Not truly.
He worried afterward.
When apologies became necessary.
Caleb worried before touching her at all.
Eleanor guided his hand toward her waist.
He stopped inches away.
“Eleanor.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
She placed his palm against the fabric.
Caleb inhaled sharply.
His hand covered nearly half her waist.
Eleanor looked into his eyes.
“If I dislike something, I’ll tell you.”
He nodded.
“If I say stop?”
“I stop.”
“No questions?”
“No.”
“Immediately?”
“Always.”
Something in his seriousness made her smile.
“This is not a trapping contract, Caleb.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
She laughed.
Then touched his cheek.
His beard felt coarse beneath her fingers.
“Sit beside me.”
They sat on the edge of the bed.
Caleb left nearly a foot between them.
Eleanor stared at the gap.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
She moved closer.
His entire body became tense.
“Caleb.”
“Yes?”
“Kiss me.”
He hesitated.
Then leaned forward.
Their first kiss barely qualified.
His lips touched hers.
Soft.
Brief.
He pulled away instantly.
Eleanor stared.
Caleb looked alarmed.
“Wrong?”
“No.”
“What?”
“That was…”
She smiled.
“Very cautious.”
His face reddened again.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
She placed one hand behind his neck.
“This time, stay.”
She kissed him.
Caleb remained still at first.
Then slowly responded.
His hand remained at her waist.
Eleanor shifted closer.
His thumb moved slightly.
Not because he knew what to do.
Because he was learning her.
The kiss deepened.
Nothing rushed.
For the first time in Eleanor’s adult life, intimacy felt like a conversation instead of a performance.
When she leaned closer, Caleb followed.
When she slowed, he slowed.
When she guided his hand, he paid attention.
When she laughed softly at his nervousness, he smiled against her mouth instead of becoming embarrassed or defensive.
At one point Caleb stopped.
“What?”
Eleanor whispered.
“You’re sure?”
She studied him.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
Then asked:
“Will you teach me?”
Eleanor smiled.
“Yes.”
That night belonged only to them.
There was no sudden transformation.
No perfect instinct.
Caleb remained uncertain.
Eleanor remained more nervous than she admitted.
They talked between kisses.
Laughed.
Stopped.
Started again.
When Eleanor gave direction, Caleb listened without pride getting in the way.
And when finally they lay beside one another in the darkness, Eleanor felt something more frightening than desire.
Safety.
She woke before dawn.
Caleb was awake too.
His hand rested lightly near her waist but not on it.
Even asleep, he seemed unwilling to presume.
Eleanor turned.
His eyes opened.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
She smiled.
“You survived.”
“Barely.”
She laughed.
Caleb’s expression softened.
Then he asked:
“Did I hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did I…”
He stopped.
Eleanor knew what he meant.
She leaned closer and whispered into his ear.
His entire face turned red again.
Eleanor laughed so hard she had to hide beneath the blanket.
Winter settled around them.
Marriage became ordinary faster than either expected.
Ordinary did not mean easy.
Eleanor discovered Caleb left wet boots too close to the fire and considered every flat surface a reasonable location for trapping equipment.
Caleb discovered Eleanor rearranged his kitchen without asking and considered accounts emotionally offensive if they did not balance to the penny.
They argued about flour storage.
Snowshoes.
Wood consumption.
Coffee.
Once, Eleanor refused to speak to him for two hours because he used one of her clean kitchen cloths to wipe gun oil.
Caleb apologized.
Then did it again three weeks later.
Their physical relationship changed too.
Caleb learned quickly because he listened.
Eleanor learned something herself.
Desire did not require fear.
She could ask.
Refuse.
Laugh.
Change her mind.
Some nights they came together eagerly.
Other nights one of them was tired and said so.
Nothing terrible happened afterward.
No silence.
No punishment.
No wounded pride.
That simplicity healed wounds Eleanor had not known were still bleeding.
In January, Caleb left for four days to check the northern trap line.
Eleanor hated it.
Not because she feared solitude.
Because she missed him.
That realization irritated her.
When Caleb returned through heavy snow, beard frozen white along the edges, Eleanor opened the door before he reached it.
“You’re late.”
“Creek crossing iced over.”
“You said Tuesday.”
“It is Tuesday.”
“After dark.”
He stared.
“Were you worried?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“You were.”
“Take off that ridiculous coat.”
Caleb stepped inside.
Eleanor grabbed the front of his coat and kissed him.